November 07, 2024
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Dogs euthanized after attacks on neighbors’ sheep

CALAIS – Two huskies that attacked and killed more than a dozen ewes, rams and lambs this summer in Charlotte have been euthanized, court officials learned Tuesday.

The attorney for the dogs’ owners, Jeffrey Davidson of Cutler, informed 4th District Court Judge John Romei that his clients, Alan and Valerie Fenderson, had had the dogs put down. He did not say when that happened.

But First District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said the state would need proof that the dogs in fact had been euthanized.

On Aug. 5, the dogs slipped into the pasture at Done Roving Farm and Carding Mill. More than two dozen sheep belonging to Stephen and Paula Farrar were killed or maimed. Several sheep died later as a result of their injuries. The dogs, which had been reported roaming the area for weeks, were up to date on their rabies shots but were not licensed.

In the complaint on file with the court, the district attorney alleged that the dogs “without provocation … attacked, injured and killed domestic sheep” belonging to the Farrars and on the same date “menaced Lisa Edgerly and her two young children, forcing them to retreat into the safety of their home.”

The state also alleges that after those two attacks, the male husky bit the town’s animal control officer, Larry Colarusso, on both hands and on his left arm. He had to seek medical treatment for his injuries.

At first the Fendersons told Colarusso they would have the dogs euthanized, but later changed their minds.

On Sept. 29, the couple paid $200 in court-imposed fines after they were summoned and charged with having dogs running at large and keeping unlicensed dogs.

On Tuesday, Davidson said since the Farrars were seeking restitution under state statute the court did not have the authority to grant it. He said the Farrars had hired their own attorney in connection with restitution.

Cavanaugh showed Davidson the statute in question that would allow for the state to proceed.

The judge then ordered that a hearing be held on Dec. 19. He said it was up to the state to prove that the Fendersons at the time of the incident were keeping dangerous dogs. If the state proved that the dogs were dangerous, then the matter could be set for a restitution hearing at a later date.

Restitution would cover such things as the cost of the loss of the sheep to the owners and veterinary bills, among other things. On the issue of pain and suffering, however, the judge said, that was a matter for civil litigation.

Correction: This article appeared on page B1 in the State and Coastal editions.

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